Chapter 1: Dislike Chapter 1: Dislike Jingcheng Kanghui Hospital, cries of pain echoed continuously from the operating room.
“It hurts so much! I don’t want to give birth anymore, Song Yufeng, you bastard, I’m never going to do this again, I’m going to sleep in a separate room from you, ah! I’m dying of pain…”
Song Yufeng awkwardly glanced at the doctor and the nurses in the operating room, then tightened his grip on his wife’s hand, coaxing her in a soft voice, “Okay, we won’t have any more, never again.”
The doctor and the nurses all smiled wryly. They had seen this scene more than once. Most mothers say they’ll never have another child while giving birth, but once the wound heals, they tend to forget the pain.
But no one noticed that at this moment, a faintly visible Light Ball appeared in the operating room, circled above the heads of those present, then plunged into the belly of the soon-to-be mother and disappeared instantly.
“Don’t you ever touch me again…ah…” Yang Xin’er’s voice was pushed to its limit in a piercing scream.
“Wah! Wah! Wah!” Soon after, the loud crying of a baby was heard in the operating room.
A look of joy immediately spread across Song Yufeng’s face as he turned towards the baby cradled in the doctor’s hands, “Xin’er, our child is born, you’ve worked hard.”
Yang Xin’er mustered a tired smile and nodded weakly, uttering, “Go see whom our baby resembles…” She had already had two daughters, both inheriting the fine genes of her and her husband. Although still young, both children were already beloved beauties. She held high hopes for the looks of this third daughter, wishing she could be even more beautiful than her sisters. She had known she was carrying a daughter since the fifth month of pregnancy and, although slightly disappointed it wasn’t a son, she loved her daughter nonetheless.
Song Yufeng nodded, stood up, and approached the doctor, “Let me see.”
The doctor hesitated for a moment before handing the child over to Song Yufeng.
At the sight of the child, Song Yufeng froze. The baby had dark skin, puffiness around the eyes, a flat nose, and most notably, a layer of fuzzy white hair on her face, inheriting none of the fine features of her parents. If he didn’t know his wife’s heart was only for him, he might doubt that the child was his daughter at all, such was her indescribable ugliness.
“How is she… is she beautiful…?” Yang Xin’er asked, laden with anticipation.
“Beaut…beautiful,” Song Yufeng regained his composure and gave a signal to the doctor with his eyes. His wife had just given birth, and he couldn’t let her mood be affected.
“Let me see…” Yang Xin’er reached out eagerly towards the baby in the doctor’s hands.
Song Yufeng walked over to Yang Xin’er, took her hand, and suggested, “Let’s wait until after the baby’s bath to see her, you’re tired too. Close your eyes and rest.”
Yang Xin’er looked at the baby in the doctor’s arms, took her time to withdraw her gaze, nodded, and closed her eyes. She was truly exhausted.
The doctor glanced at Song Yufeng and Yang Xin’er, then walked out with the baby. She failed to notice that the baby in her arms had opened its eyes. Those small eyes were incredibly bright and spirited, shining like the most brilliant stars in the night.
The baby looked around, its lips curved into a faint smile, then closed its eyes again.
Song Yufeng put down the bowl in his hand and picked up a napkin to wipe the soup from Yang Xin’er’s lips, “Are you full?” Although the Song Family had servants, he preferred to take care of his wife personally because she was the woman he loved.
Yang Xin’er nodded, “Yufeng, I want to see the baby.”
Song Yufeng’s hands, as he wiped, hesitated slightly. He let out a silent sigh in his heart, stood up, and carefully covered Yang Xin’er with the blanket, “I’ll bring the baby over.” Some things have to be faced sooner or later. He could find excuses not to let his wife see the baby today, but what about tomorrow? He couldn’t possibly keep the baby from her forever.
“Hmm!” Yang Xin’er smiled and nodded, eyes brimming with anticipation.
Song Yufeng left the delivery room and soon returned with the baby in his arms.
Seeing Song Yufeng come in with the baby, Yang Xin’er eagerly opened her arms, “Let me have a look quickly.”
Song Yufeng approached Yang Xin’er, “Xin’er, the baby is still young, she will grow more and more beautiful.”
Yang Xin’er gave Song Yufeng a puzzled look, then nodded, “I know, our Xiao Xue and Xiao Li got prettier as they grew. Let me see our baby, she must be very beautiful, right?”
Song Yufeng bent down and handed the baby in his arms to Yang Xin’er.
Upon seeing the baby’s face, the smile that Yang Xin’er had been eagerly anticipating instantly froze on her face, and her complexion swiftly turned ghastly. She pushed the baby away, “That’s not my child, take her away, take her away!” she exclaimed. How could the child she gave birth to be so ugly?
The infant in Song Yufeng’s arms lazily opened her eyes, a hint of sarcasm that didn’t match her age flashed through her dark, starry pupils.
“Xin’er, don’t be agitated, she really is our child. She’s still very young, and hasn’t grown into her looks yet. She’ll become more and more beautiful as she grows,” Song Yufeng gently reassured. He knew his wife couldn’t accept it, but regardless of her acceptance, this was still their child.
“No, she’s not our child. Our child couldn’t possibly be this ugly. Take her away, I never want to see her again,” Yang Xin’er shook her head, screaming out of control.
Song Yufeng sighed, “Xin’er, listen to me.”
“I won’t listen, I won’t listen. Take her away, I don’t want to see her, never ever,” Yang Xin’er covered her ears with both hands. She knew Yufeng wouldn’t lie to her, but she truly couldn’t accept this child as hers. The child she gave birth to should be like Xiao Xue and Xiao Li, with fair skin and delicate features, not this monstrously ugly creature.
Song Yufeng helplessly shook his head, “Then I’ll take the child out for now.” Xin’er was just having trouble accepting this for the time being. She would gradually accept it eventually, after all, this was their child.
“Dad! Mom! We’ve come to see our little sister.” A burst of cheerful laughter from children came from outside the door, and two delicate girls, like porcelain dolls, holding the hand of a middle-aged beautiful woman, walked into the room.
“Dad, let us see our little sister,” seeing Song Yufeng holding the child, the two girls rushed to his side, looking up at him expectantly.
“The little sister is sleeping. You stay with mom, and dad will take the little sister to bed,” Song Yufeng looked down and smiled at his two daughters. He did not want to show them the child in his arms, afraid that it would scare them. It was secondary that this little daughter was not good looking; what concerned him more was the fine layer of fuzz on her face, as if undeveloped.
“No, no! Dad, we want to see our little sister,” the two children tugged at Song Yufeng’s hem, coquettishly insisting. They had been looking forward to this little sister for a long time.
“Just let them see,” the middle-aged beautiful woman walked up to Song Yufeng and looked at the baby in his arms.
When she clearly saw the baby’s face in Song Yufeng’s arms, her brow furrowed instantly, “What’s the matter with this child? Have you asked the doctor?” It was the first time she had seen a baby with fuzz on their body.
Song Yufeng nodded, “I asked the doctor, and the doctor said it’s normal. The fine fuzz on the baby’s body is called lanugo, and most newborns are born with it, though it usually grows on specific parts of the baby’s body like the back, shoulders, ears, and forehead. The lanugo will fall off normally, with some babies losing it after the first week or some after a few months.”
“Okay,” the middle-aged beautiful woman nodded slightly. As long as the fuzz could fall off, it was a relief; otherwise, she would have had difficulty accepting this child.
“Dad, we want to see our sister,” Song Yanxue and Song Yanli blinked their large, grape-like eyes at Song Yufeng. Grandma had said they could see her, so why wasn’t dad letting them?
Song Yufeng looked at the middle-aged beautiful woman, who gave a nod.
“Alright, dad will let you see.” Song Yufeng bent down and passed the baby in his arms to Song Yanxue and Song Yanli.
“How can our sister be so ugly? Dad, you couldn’t have picked up the wrong baby, could you?” Song Yanxue asked Song Yufeng. Both her parents were so good-looking, as were she and Xiao Li, so how could their sister be ugly? Surely dad had just made a mistake.
“Our little sister is so ugly! She looks like a monkey, with hair all over her face,” Song Yanli said disdainfully. She also thought their dad had picked up the wrong baby.
Song Yufeng smiled, “Dad didn’t get it wrong, your little sister has just been born, and she’ll be prettier as she grows up.”
“Really?” Song Yanxue and Song Yanli looked at Song Yufeng dubiously. Mom had told them that they were very pretty when they were born, just like princesses from fairy tales; why wasn’t their sister like that? Maybe mom had said that to avoid upsetting them.
Song Yufeng smiled and nodded, “Why would dad lie to you?”
Song Yanxue and Song Yanli looked again at the little infant in Song Yufeng’s arms.
“Little sister, you must grow up quickly, then you can be beautiful like us,” Song Yanxue reached out her chubby little hand, gently touched the baby’s face, and giggled. Although her sister wasn’t pretty, she felt soft to the touch, like a cake.
“I want to touch too,” Song Yanli also reached out to touch the baby’s face and smiled happily.
Yang Xin’er watched this scene with an ugly expression, her heart filled with irritation, “Take her away, I don’t want to see her.”